Star trek: Future Omens
by anthony1778
Summary: This was my First fanfic ever, hope you like it, involves the Borg, R&R please.
1. Star trek: Future Omens

Star Trek - Future Omens  
  
Captain's Log, Stardate 6238.4 : The Enterprise is Enroute to the planet Parliament for a peace conference. The recent resurgence in conflict between the Andorians and the Tellarites has led to a Federation attempt to broker a peace conference. We have the happy duty of transporting representatives from each of the two governments, and will be rendezvousing with the USS Ark Royal to pick up the lucky man who will be in charge of the hoped for treaty.  
  
On a lighter note though, the Ambassador is an old friend of the Enterprise. And family...  
  
* * * *  
  
The USS Enterprise NCC 1701 dropped out of warp and glided to a halt beside another Constitution-class starship. The two were identical, except for hull markings. Where Kirk's ship was bone white with black lettering, this ship was a silver with it's name emblazoned in dark scarlet. On the bridge, Uhura turned around in her chair and lowered her ear-piece, "Captain, the Ark Royal is hailing."  
  
Kirk nodded and turned in his boxy command chair to face the screen. He settled himself, and tried to remove the frown that was fighting to come out. The ship's doctor stepped out of the turbolift, and jogged down to stand by the seated Captain, "Am I too late?" he asked, and Kirk looked up at him in annoyment.  
  
"You should be down in the transporter room, Bones, to greet the Ambassador." said Jim.  
  
McCoy grinned, "Anything to avoid a dress uniform, plus I want to see her."  
  
Kirk turned back to the screen, "Yes, her."  
  
"Jim, we both know you of all people need to be supportive." said McCoy.  
  
"Why me?"  
  
The doctor laughed, "Because of your reputation with the ladies, and she was a member of our crew. If for just a short time. Quite the career she's had since she turned you down, and then took a transfer."  
  
"Yes, quite a career." snapped Kirk.  
  
"Captain?" asked Uhura again, and he nodded.  
  
The view of the darker Ark Royal vanished, and the other ship's bridge appeared. Kirk's opposite number was sitting in the command chair, "Captain James Kirk." she said with a nod.  
  
"Captain Marlena Moreau." he replied, "So, why are we using our full names?" and then he chuckled.  
  
At the helm, Lt. Commander Sulu's eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful starship Captain. They had spoken several times when she had been aboard, but he would never forget her dusky skin, long and full black hair, and her bearing. On the screen her eyes flicked to him, and her gaze softened, "Commander." she said.  
  
"Captain." he replied, hoping Kirk wouldn't mind, "Congratulations on your promotion and ship. The first female Starship Commander in the Fleet, very impressive."  
  
In his chair, Kirk watched the conversation between the two, and felt glad for the distraction. But, they had business to attend to, and he cleared his throat, "Ahem."  
  
The two halted in their talk, and Moreau returned her gaze back to him, "Sorry, Kirk. Anyway, the Ambassador is ready to beam over." and she pressed a key on her chair, "There. He should be in your transporter room in a moment."  
  
She sat up straighter and smoothed her green command tunic, "Well, it's been great fun. We're off to explore the nearby Magnus Cluster." and she grinned slightly, as if to say her ship had the better job, "Ark Royal out."  
  
The screen returned to a shot of the Ark Royal's exterior. The communication's system whistled, "Transporter Room to Bridge, Sarek is aboard."  
  
The Ark Royal spun in space and then set off at warp two. Kirk gave the order, and the Enterprise returned to her course to Parliament. Sulu leaned over the helm, checking their warp field for any instabilities, and found none. Beside him, Chekov elbowed him, and he looked up to see his Captain standing beside him.  
  
He swallowed, "Sir?"  
  
Kirk patted him on the shoulder, "Thanks. I might have said something...said something."  
  
The Asian officer nodded, "She really is a good officer. She'll make a great Captain."  
  
Kirk just looked at him, then headed for the turbolift, "Time will tell. You have the conn, Commander." and he and McCoy disappeared into the lift.  
  
* * * *  
  
It had been an hour since the two Starfleet vessels had parted, and the Ark Royal sailed through the brightly lit zone of stars, sensors on full, taking it all in. On the bridge, Captain Moreau finished signing her First Officer's daily report, and handed the black pad to the Yeoman. At the helm the Ensign called out, "Entering the center of the Magnus Cluster."  
  
The Captain leaned forward, "All stop." and the silver ship came to a quick halt, "Alright, we have a job to do. I want every star, every rock, all of it, cataloged and-"  
  
"Captain!" came a call from the Science Station.  
  
Moreau looked up, eyes angry at the interruption, "What is it, Caccamo?"  
  
The swarthy Science Specialist was engrossed by what he was viewing in his sensor hood. The blue light played across his sallow features and jet-black hair. A human of Sicilian descent, Commander Anthony Caccamo had a reputation on the ship for excitability. He rose from his crouch, and typed on his keyboard, "Look at this, it's incredible!"  
  
The viewscreen switched to a pulsing point of blue light. The Captain was fascinated, and her anger vanished, "Magnify."  
  
The image swelled, showing some kind of tear or rip in space. It pulsed and flared. All stared at it, "What is it?" Moreau asked.  
  
Caccamo stared into the blinking abyss, "I'm getting distorted spatial reading, sir. But it's like it isn't even there. I almost missed it."  
  
She grinned, "Helm, take us in closer." she commanded.  
  
As the ship began to move, Caccamo stepped down beside. Her leaned in close and spoke low, "I don't think this is wise, sir."  
  
"This is why we're here, or are you forgetting?" she replied, and he backed off, returned to his station.  
  
The Ark Royal flew onwards toward the mystery.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kirk put down his fork, and leaned back in his chair. Beside him, McCoy grinned at the man's half-plate, "Loose your appetite, Jim?"  
  
He followed the Captain's gaze to the far end of the table, where the blue- skinned Andorian clan leader and the pig-snouted Tellarite were trading loud verbal blows. Between the two, and leaning back in his own chair with a look of boredom, sat Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan. As McCoy and Kirk watched, Ravv the Tellarite slapped the table so hard a cup shot into the air, and arched toward Shiloth the Andorian.  
  
All looked doomed for half a moment, but Sarek moved like lightning, and snagged the ceramic mug the air, an inch from the Andorian's nose. He set it down lightly. All was silent for a moment, then the antennaed being growled, and the fight began again. Kirk sighed, and Bones tried not to laugh.  
  
The door slid open, and Spock entered. He walked past his peers, and set an elegant yellow bottle down beside the Andorian, "The Tula Wine you requested, sir."  
  
The Andorian nodded, and grabbed the tumbler. Sarek nodded to his son in thanks, and Spock walked back to return to his seat across from Kirk and McCoy. The Doctor grinned at the Vulcan, "Didn't know you were a waiter, Spock. In that case, I want to see a wine list."  
  
Spock ignored this comment, and picked up his own fork. He delicately speared a celery cube and ate it. A minute passed, then he spied Kirk's mostly untouched plate, "Is the meal not to your taste, Captain?"  
  
Kirk played with his cloth napkin, "Those two will never agree, in my opinion. The star system they are fighting over has been in contention for more than two hundred years. Their fleets are building, and Starfleet has decided that if an agreement cannot be reached within two days, they will have to step in. With force."  
  
McCoy's eyes widened, "I didn't know it was that bad."  
  
"Indeed." said Spock, "I had sensed that it was approaching a dangerous level. But if Starfleet intercedes, the results could rip the Federation apart. Both fleets are on their way to Parliament."  
  
McCoy paled, "But that's where we are going. If this thing goes south, we'll be in the middle of a hornet's nest!"  
  
Kirk nodded, "In fact-"  
  
He was interrupted by the whistle of the comm, "Captain to the bridge." and a siren sounded, indicating red alert.  
  
The three were on their feet and out the door. Behind them, the guests could only watch them go. Kirk, Spock and McCoy arrived on the Bridge, and Sulu gave up the command chair.  
  
"Report." demanded Kirk, as he dropped into it.  
  
"We have received a distress call from the Ark Royal, it was garbled, and it didn't sound good." advised the assistant Comm Officer.  
  
Kirk was torn, the mission to Parliament was paramount, but a fellow ship in danger, and them so close. What should he do? He wanted to consult with Spock or McCoy, but the decision could have such wide-reaching effects, it had to be his, and his alone.  
  
The turbolift shot open. Chekov and Uhura emerged, and took their positions, their subordinates moved to other, less essential stations. The female Communications Specialist rapidly scanned the message, "They are fighting for their lives, and do not expect to survive. Moreau is...praising her crew, then it goes dead." she looked up, a forlorn look on her face.  
  
That did it for the Captain, "Reverse course! Turn this ship around, and maximum warp to the Magnus Cluster."  
  
* * * *  
  
The Enterprise dropped out of warp and flew into the bright mass of close proximity stars and pulsars that made up the Magnus Cluster. Spock was at his station, peering into his sensor hood, and spoke up immediately, "I have located the Ark Royal. Transmitting the location to the helm."  
  
"Got it." reported Chekov, and they altered course.  
  
The ship roared through the expanse and emerged past a dissipating red giant. Ahead could be seen a swirling rip in space, all blue and sparkling, twisting and pulsing. The silver Ark Royal was half into it backwards, struggling to escape. Blue tendrils of twisted energy were wrapped around the saucer section, and even as the Enterprise closed, the other Constitution ship was wrenched to port.  
  
The Ark Royal was yanked around, exposing a nacelle. Kirk stared at the astonishing scene unfolding on his viewscreen, then acted, "Slap a tractor beam on the ship. Spock, what the Hell is that?!"  
  
There came a hum, and a green energy beam shot out and snagged the port nacelle of the other vessel. The Enterprise went into full reverse, and attempted to pull the Ark Royal free. On the bridge of the Enterprise, Spock was using every sensor they had, "The phenomenon appears to be a fold in space-time, but it almost doesn't register."  
  
The engines began to whine, Kirk had ordered warp power channeled into the impulse thrusters. The com whistled, and the Chief Engineer's voice appeared, "What are ya do'in to me engines? Ye are gonna rip us apart!" raged Montgomery Scott from down in Engineering.  
  
Kirk opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly on the screen there was a flash and the nacelle they had a hold of broke free. The Ark Royal vanished into the swirling rift.  
  
The Enterprise shot backwards, trailing the engine. Sulu fired thrusters and they spun to a stop. For a long moment the ship just hung there, while the vortex beckoned. On the bridge, Spock was the first to speak, "Captain, I have finished my analysis. The rift is like a one-way hole in space, and it seems stable for now. The rate of energy dispersion indicates it will stay open for the next twelve hours."  
  
"Can we pass through safely, if we don't fight it?" asked Kirk.  
  
His First Officer nodded, "I believe so. That seems to have been the mistake of the Ark Royal, though they could not have known."  
  
"Secure the warp nacelle, we're going in." ordered Kirk immediately.  
  
"Jim, is this wise?" asked McCoy.  
  
"How should I know?" replied Kirk, "But we just can't leave them there. If they could come back under their own power they would have. Helm, full speed ahead, take us in."  
  
The Enterprise shot forward, and into the swirling mass. Within the ship seemed to twist and shift, time seemed to slow down, then everything righted, and they burst out of the other side. Kirk ordered a halt, and they glided to a stop.  
  
The vortex was different on this side, more settled and calm, smaller. And the Ark Royal hung in space dead ahead, all lights off, spinning slowly, her naked pylon sparking. Kirk ordered the Enterprise up beside her, emergency teams beamed over, and the rescue began.  
  
* * * *  
  
An hour later Kirk entered Sickbay, and walked past the empty beds to the only one in use. Captain Moreau was fidgeting on hers, as McCoy played a cortical scanner across her forehead, "Now just hold still, young lady, you took a nasty hit."  
  
The device beeped and Bones lowered it, "There, done."  
  
She spied Kirk and frowned, "You damaged my ship. Maybe I'll sue."  
  
Kirk stared at her for a second, then tried a grin, "We did what we had to due, but the nacelle's back where it should be. You should be ready to go back with us in less than twenty minutes, the break was clean."  
  
She nodded, "I know, I ordered it ejected, I didn't want the Enterprise pulled in with us."  
  
He looked at her, "What do you mean?"  
  
"If you had gotten any closer the rift would have sensed you, and tried to snag you." she said, and he looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"Sensed?"  
  
Moreau shrugged, her thick black hair bounced, "That's how Angel described it."  
  
"Angel?" asked Kirk.  
  
She smiled, "My Science Officer, Caccamo. Also my First Officer, that's what everybody calls him. It fits."  
  
McCoy excused himself, and disappeared into his office. Moreau seized the opportunity, "Kirk, what gives? I'm getting a bad vibe from you, you suddenly don't like me. I can think of only one reason."  
  
He stiffened, "It is true I objected to the idea of a woman Captain, but who am I to disagree with Starfleet?"  
  
She frowned, "You should talk, getting the Enterprise at the age of 29. I'm 30, almost matched you there. But I earned my command, just like you did."  
  
"Maybe it helps that your father is the Commander in Chief of the Fleet." said Kirk, then immediately wished he hadn't.  
  
She got to her feet, and glared at him, "I don't care what you, or any of the other boys, think! That rule was wrong, and look what it did to Janice Lester. For an advanced species the human race had some strange ideas."  
  
He bristled, "The psychological tests that have to be passed in order to get a Starship command, have indicated only a man had the capacity to lead."  
  
"I passed them." she shot back, and he nodded.  
  
"You did." Kirk said.  
  
"I'm going back to my ship." she said, and left the Sickbay.  
  
The Captain of the Enterprise watched her go, and wished he could tell her the real reason for his animosity toward her. But he couldn't. She wouldn't have believed him anyway.  
  
* * * *  
  
The Ark Royal was ready to go, and the two ships spun in space, coming fully around to face the pulsing vortex. On the bridge of the Enterprise, Kirk stared at his First Officer in disbelief, "Fifty thousand light years? We've gone that far?"  
  
Spock nodded, "I believe we are in an area recently designated the 'Delta Quadrant', by Vulcan astronomers."  
  
Kirk turned back to the screen, "I wish we could look around, but we have to get back. Parliament awaits. Our Andorian and Tellarite guests have already raged at the delay. Send to the Ark Royal, ready to go?"  
  
A moment later Uhura replied, "Aye sir, Captain Moreau says she will take the lead."  
  
Kirk chuckled, "You don't say. Tell her no problem."  
  
The Ark Royal's impulse drive flared and she shot forward. She raced toward the vortex, but instead of passing into it, the ship deflected off it, and spun away. The ship came to a halt, and Kirk rose from his chair, "Spock-"  
  
"Scanning." informed the Vulcan, then answered a moment later, "The energy plane on this side is very different. I believe we will have to use our phasers to alter the-"  
  
"Keptin!" came the sudden thick Russian accent of Lt. Chekov, and Kirk spun to face the screen.  
  
"What?" he demanded, and the Navigator entered a command into his console.  
  
The view changed, and an object appeared, heading toward their position fast. Very fast.  
  
"Navigational sensors just picked it up. It is very fast. And very large." replied Chekov.  
  
Kirk ordered full magnification, and the alien vessel appeared, a huge, looming grey cube. It's surface was all struts and pipes, there was a sense of menace to the entire construct. Spock stared at the cube, "Fascinating." then redirected his sensors, "I detect no discernible propulsion system, and the life-readings are...odd."  
  
The ship came into range, and halted three kilometers away from them. On the bridge of the Ark Royal, Captain Moreau leaned forward in her chair, amazed at the sheer bulk of the alien vessel. Caccamo was at his station, and sighed, "It's 3 kilometers high and wide, nothing like it has ever been seen before."  
  
A point on the cube flashed, and a green beam played across both vessels. It passed upwards through the Ark Royal, and passed through the bridge crew, "Scan?" asked Moreau.  
  
"I think so." replied Caccamo, then there was a flash of light, and a bizarre figure in black appeared beside the Environmental Station. The same thing had happened on the Enterprise. Sulu reached under his console and snagged a phaser pistol, and jumped from his chair.  
  
He raised the weapon, but Kirk halted him with a wave, "Hold on."  
  
The being was dressed in black armor and technology, all of which seemed to integrated directly into it's body. It might have been male, and it's skin was the grey of death. It stared at them with disinterest, then raised it's left arm, which ended in a clawed probe of some kind, and pointed it at the console.  
  
"It is trying to access our control systems." warned Spock, as green energy crackled from the arm unit, and the panel began to flash. Then other panels began to flash too, all over the bridge.  
  
Kirk took strode forward, and tried to step between the intruder and the station, "Stop. We cannot allow you to-" the being swung it's free arm, and knocked Kirk backwards, over the railing.  
  
That was it for Sulu, he aimed and fired. The blue beam drilled into the being's back, and it sputtered and fell to the deck. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Chekov helped Kirk up, he seemed unharmed, just annoyed.  
  
A similar situation was happening on the Ark Royal, but when Moreau grabbed a phaser from under her chair, it's beam met a personal force-field that suddenly appeared in the air around the alien. Caccamo was in communication with the Enterprise, "Their uninvited guest was easily dispatched by phaser. I believe they creatures are directly linked in some way, and can adapt at an astonishing speed."  
  
But Moreau was livid, "I want it off my ship, if I have to use my bare hands-" but the being suddenly halted it's probe.  
  
It stepped back and vanished back to it's ship. On the Enterprise it's dead counterpart went too, as Spock and McCoy knelt beside it scanning with tricorders. They rose, "Captain, from what I was able to learn, the creature appeared to be a drone of some kind, linked to a hive mind back on the cube."  
  
McCoy supplied his two cents, "And it's enhancement level is amazing. It had implants I cannot even guess at, all through it's system. Jim, that ship is massive, there could be thousands-"  
  
"By my calculations there could be as many as 102,000 drones on the cube." broke in Spock, and Bones glared at him.  
  
Kirk spun back around in his chair, "Raise shields, I don't want anymore boarders. Advise Moreau to do the same."  
  
Sulu nodded, "The Ark Royal has already done this, sir."  
  
The Captain nodded, "Moreau knows her stuff, her instincts are getting sharper by the minute. Here's what-"  
  
"Incoming message!" informed Uhura, "It's overpowering the comm, I couldn't stop it if I wanted to."  
  
A voice like a bland chorus of a thousand speaking simultaneously echoed across both bridges, "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."  
  
McCoy spoke, "What the heck does that all mean?"  
  
Kirk's eyes went wide with recognition, "Borg?! All power to shields, charge phasers and load torpedoes! Sulu, get us out of here now!"  
  
As his crew jumped to his commands, the Captain punched his com line, "Kirk to Ark Royal, let's get out of here, maximum warp!"  
  
Moreau's voice came back, angry and confused, "What are you talking about? The vortex-"  
  
"Forget the vortex!" raged Kirk, "Go, now, trust me on this, we have to get out of here!"  
  
The Enterprise was already moving, when the Ark Royal spun around. The two ships broke away in different directions, then swooped back beside each other. They raced away at warp nine. The Borg cube hovered for a long moment as if undecided about what to do, then jumped forward, and raced after the fleeing Starfleet ships.  
  
They tore through space, engines flaring, decks shaking, engines whining. And the Borg followed, seemingly with no effort. McCoy stepped up beside Kirk, "Jim, what's going on, you act as if you know these guys?"  
  
"Not now, Bones. Chekov, scan for any star system, or something." ordered the Captain, "We need to loose the cube then double-back to the vortex."  
  
The Navigator scanned, "There is a hydrogen field at bearing three-six- three."  
  
Spock sat at his station, "Scanning. Yes, it is more than two thousand kilometers in circumference."  
  
Kirk nodded, "That's where we're going."  
  
Uhura spoke up, "Captain, the Ark Royal is hailing." and Kirk had her make the connection.  
  
"Kirk." said Moreau, turning around in her chair, "There's a hydrogen field near here, I think we should head into it."  
  
He smiled, he was really starting to like Moreau, "We concur, our Navigator spotted it, too. Let's split up, and meet in the middle in twenty minutes." and she nodded.  
  
The two ships shot into the huge greenish-grey mass of gas, and vanished. The cube flew up, and halted before it. It began to scan the field...  
  
TO BE CONTINUED! 


	2. Star trek: Exit to Oblivion

Star Trek - Exit to Oblivion  
  
Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 6239.2 : One of the greatest secrets of the Federation has come down on my ship like a ton of bricks; we have encountered an alien race of hive-minded beings called the Borg. Known only to a handful of Starfleet Officers, it has been more of a whispered myth than actual fact. To my knowledge, I am the only one of Captain rank who was ever allowed to read what is known as the Cochrane Report. And it seems I am now forced to pay for the privlige.  
  
Just my wonderful luck...  
  
As this may be my final log, I will recount the events that led to our current predicament. Not long after departing from a rendevous with the USS Ark Royal, we received a distress call from the same ship, and raced to the Magnus Cluster to investigate. We found them being pulled through some kind of vortex, and after following them through found ourselves 50,000 light- years from our previous position, in what Spock calls the Delta Quadrant. The Ark Royal had to be repaired, but once that was finished we discovered our passage back through the fold in space-time to be blocked.  
  
Before we could begin to search for a solution, an alien vessel appeared and closed on us incredibly fast. It was a huge grey cube, and it scanned both our ships and beamed scouts aboard. When they tried to hijack our systems we sent them packing, then the cube contacted us and identified itself as the Borg. Severly overmatched, we took off at high warp, and the cube followed. Now we are concealed inside a large field of hydrogen and will soon rendevous with our sister-ship in the center of the cloud.  
  
I sit alone in my Conference Room, awaiting my closest Officers and the arrival of my opposite number from the Ark Royal. Can we come up with a solution to this? Or will we disappear here, lost far from home?  
  
* * * *  
  
Jim Kirk sat in a sculpted plastic chair in the stark meeting room and stared at the wall, deep in thought. With a swoosh, the door slid back and McCoy and Spock came in, the Doctor carrying a tricorder. The Captain turned toward them, "Has the Ark Royal arrived?" Spock nodded, "Good, there's a few things I want to discuss before the general meeting."  
  
McCoy slid into a chair and dropped the black and silver scanning device before him, "You bet we have some things to discuss." his voice was filled with rancor "Like how you seemed to recognize these Borg."  
  
"Indeed." chimed in the First Officer "I myself would be interested to know how this could be possible, as I find no trace of them in our computer banks."  
  
Bones nodded, "Exactly, now, spill it, Jim. What do you know?"  
  
Kirk opened his mouth to reply, then hesitated. Should I tell them? Should I keep it a secret? Then the doors slid open again, and two new arrivals strode in from the USS Ark Royal. He turned and smiled, prepared to greet the newcomers, but halted, and his grin became a scowl, "Captain Moreau, why are you wearing the wrong uniform?"  
  
As Commander Caccamo dropped into a chair beside Spock, she came to halt before the table, and placed her hands on her hips. She smirked down at Kirk, "And what is wrong with what I'm wearing?"  
  
McCoy and Spock looked round and took in the curvy brunettes appearance. Bones smiled, "Why Jim, she's dressed exactly like you."  
  
Which she was. A green wrap-around Captain's shirt fastened with a silver dove insignia acting as a clasp on her hip, black trousers that flared slightly at the tops of glossy black boots below the knee. Except for the insignia, which was the symbol of the Ark Royal, the outfit was the same as the Enterprise Captain's. He opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it.  
  
"You really don't expect me to lead my crew dressed in a mini-skirt and short-sleeves, do you?" and she rolled her eyes, "I am a Starship Captain and I've earned my position-"  
  
"Earned." snorted Kirk.  
  
Her eyes blazed, "Yes, earned. That stupid rule is gone now, and you better get used to it, Captain. I will not parade around in a saucy get-up and hand out coffee to the men. And neither will any other woman on my ship. I've half a mind to make the men where the mini-skirts and tights, it's within my power."  
  
Anthony Caccamo raised a hand, "Uh, I might have a problem with that."  
  
She slid into an empty seat and glared at Kirk, "Well? Are we going to get started or what? We are in a life and death situation. By the way, my logs show that the Borg beamed aboard the Ark Royal first, so I get the credit for First Contact."  
  
Kirk frowned, "Sorry, but no."  
  
She shook her head in annoyment, "Always the glory hound I see. Look, record logs don't lie-"  
  
"I don't care about any records, Starfleet has known about this species for a while now." interupted Kirk.  
  
"They have?" asked Spock, "So, the good Doctor was correct, you did recognize them on the bridge."  
  
Kirk nodded, "At least the name. Now, what I am about to say goes no further, and after this any other Officers who have heard or seen anything about the Borg will be instructed to keep it secret. You all know the Prime Directive of course. Well, there is a little known statute called the Temporal Prime Directive."  
  
"Temporal?" said Caccomo, "You mean as in time-travel? What could time- travel have to do with these Borg?"  
  
"There is a record, known only to a select few, called the Cochrane Report." explained the Captain.  
  
"Cochrane?" asked Moreau, "As in Zefram Cochrane?"  
  
"Yes." said Kirk, "I have read it, and there is only one stand-alone copy. In it, it details in his own words what took place during the first human warp flight. He attests that an alien force attempted to stop him, and that they came from the far future. An unidentified team of people, also from the future, followed them back and helped him, and his assistant Lily Sloane, defeat them. Then, the test was successful."  
  
"I have not heard of any of this." said Spock, "And I find such a report to be highly dubious. The Vulcans who made contact at that time mentioned none of this."  
  
"That is because Cochrane only told a few people in the government, and it was kept secret. But Sloane claimed to personally encounter the invaders, and she said they were a cybernetic species called the Borg." he stopped talking and let it sink in.  
  
"I want to see this report." said Moreau finnally.  
  
He shrugged, "Sorry, can't help you there, as the only copy is back in San Francisco on Earth. And that's 50,000 light-years away at the moment. You'll just have to take my word for it."  
  
"Uh huh." she said dryly, "You're telling us that Starfleet has known about the Borg since the 21st Century, before there even was a Starfleet, and this is the first we hear of them."  
  
"The Temporal Prime Directive. There was no conformation. And knowledge of the future might affect that future. And added to all that is the concept that the Borg of our time haven't heard of us as of yet. If Earth of the far future has trouble dealing with them, we certainly would have too."  
  
"Much more I would think." said Dr. McCoy, "But forget'n all this mish- mash, what do we all do now? We've been dumped half-way to the other side of the galaxy-"  
  
"Actually-"  
  
"Can-it, Spock, I'm talk'n right now. What I'm try'n to say, how do we get home?"  
  
Kirk sat up straighter, nodded at his friends down-to-earth wisdom, "Thanks, Bones, you're right. All right gentlemen...and lady, first, last and all orders of business inbetween is to get back to our sector. Ideas?"  
  
Spock reached forward and turned on the viewscreen, bringing up an image of the blue vortex they had passed through, "I have analyzed the fold in space- time, or vortex. While our first attempt to re-enter it failed, I believe a concentrated phaser blast at a high enough frequency will stabilize it's energy plane long enough for our vessels to pass through. But this must be performed soon, as the vortex will disapate within three hours."  
  
"Three?" asked Kirk, "I thought before you said we had nine or ten."  
  
The Vulcan cleared his throat, "As I have stated, the vortex can be affected by energy bursts. The Borg cube discharged it's powerful cutting beam near enough to effect it, and the rate has been greatly accelerated. We must act very soon."  
  
"But what about the cube?" demanded McCoy, "The moment we leave this field of gas, it's gonna be on us like vultures on a dead mule. That thing is three klicks wide and pack'n more firepower then all of Starfleet! We'll be pulverized."  
  
"Angel and I have come up with an idea." said Captain Moreau, and the Enterprise trio turned to look at her and her Italian Science Officer.  
  
She gestured to Caccamo, and he produced yellow computer cart from his pocket, plugged it into the table's reader. A mathmatical model appeared in place of the vortex on the display, "I was able to scan the Borg drone that boarded the Ark Royal, and have determined the frequency with which it is connected with the rest of the hive mind. If we disrupt that frequency, say with an electro-magnetic pulse, we would in effect be stunning their entire, uh, collective mind."  
  
"A fascinating theory." said Spock, "This could be accomplished with a photon torpedo augmented with anti-matter."  
  
"How many of these torpedoes could we create in two hours?" asked Kirk.  
  
Spock and Caccamo huddled for a moment and consulted, then looked up, "Two each is the most."  
  
The Captain nodded firmly, "Do it." then he stood, "All right people, lets get to it. I've had more than enough of this Delta Quadrant, I don't want to end up on a ten-year journey home."  
  
The rest stood. Spock headed for the door, "I will advise the Ambassadors."  
  
"No mention of the Borg." ordered Kirk.  
  
Spock glanced back as he left, "But of course, Captain." then they all headed off to their assignments.  
  
* * * *  
  
The Borg cube was preparing to start launching random charges into the green nebula when suddenly both Constitution-Class starships exploded out, on opposite sides. The Borg hesitated only for a second, then shot after the Ark Royal, as it appeared to have been damaged recently and might be easier to catch. The silver and red crusier screamed through the vacuum of open space, impulse engine blazing at maximum output, and the grey cube accelerated after it, first matching then exceeding it's speed. It closed the gap, meter by meter.  
  
"We are the Borg." came the forced transmission, and it echoed across Marla Moreau's bridge, "You will be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."  
  
"Open a channel." she commanded.  
  
A moment later, "Ready, Captain."  
  
She paused, then "This Captain Marlena Moreau of the USS Ark Royal. I will give you just one warning-"  
  
"Irrelevant." interupted the combined intelligence.  
  
"I said, I will give you one opprotunity to withdraw-"  
  
"Irrelevant."  
  
"Will you let me speak?!  
  
"Conversation is irrelevant. Resistance is futile." then the Ark Royal shook under the impact of a green Borg torpedo.  
  
"Shields at sixty-two percent." reported Angel, "They sure pack a punch."  
  
She scowled, "All right then, charge the aft phaser bank."  
  
"And...ready and locked, ma'am." came the reply from the weapons console.  
  
"Burn the bionic-bastards!" her husky voice crackled across the room.  
  
Twin red beams shot from the starship and flew backwards to score twin hits on the cube. They cut into the vast grey metal surface of pipes and conduits, and blasts of metal and gases resulted.  
  
"Photon torpedoes, lock and load." she commanded.  
  
"Ready."  
  
"And...FIRE!" she yelled.  
  
The aft tube flashed blue once, twice, thee times, sending a triple threat of blue torpedoes back to the cube. The smashed into it, rocking it hard, leaving wide craters across the front. But the Borg kept coming, they seemed unstoppable. The Ark Royal shook terribly twice more, and Moreau's eyes went wide as their shields dropped below ten percent. Time was running out.  
  
"Twelve seconds to the designated postition." advised Caccamo.  
  
"Prepare for a full starboard thruster burn." ordered the Captain, and eyed the preset counter on her chair's armrest.  
  
At the exact right moment she shouted, "Cut the impulse engines and fire thrusters!"  
  
The Ark Royal suddenly shot sideways so fast it tipped up on it's side. The Borg cube screamed by unable to stop it's forward momentum. Directly ahead the Enterprise exploded out of warp, saucer hull tipped up and aligned perfectly.  
  
"Come to papa." growled Kirk, then, "Fire the EMP torpedo!"  
  
The Enterprise's forward launcher flashed and the single blue projectile spun across the vacuum and slammed into the cube, detonating in a blinding flare of white light. The cube lurched and lightning crackle across it's surface, sunk into the interior. The ship ground to a grating halt.  
  
"The other one!"  
  
A second torpedo smacked into the lower-left corner. Then the Ark Royal sailed past, fired it's pair at the other side as it went. The white energy enveloped the cube in a blinding flash which ripped across it, then the grey surface sparked red and orange in multiple locations. It shook brutally, then detonated in a tremendous explosion.  
  
"Holy-GO SULU!" yelled Captain Kirk, and the Enterprise spun on it's axis and leaped to high warp.  
  
The Ark Royal jumped after them a moment later, just ahead of the crackling blast-wave. Side-by-side the two Starfleet ships raced away at warp eight, curving across space, not caring which way they were going. Then they were clear and Moreau signalled the Enterprise and the two of them dropped out of warp space and flowed to a stop.  
  
Kirk smiled and leaned back in his command chair, as Moreau appeared on the forward screen, grinning like him, "Well, well, Captain Kirk. That went better than I thought it would."  
  
"Yes it did, Captain Moreau. Congratulations, your plan worked. The Enterprise was lucky to have you as an ally." he replied, "You are damn right, you do deserve to wear that uniform."  
  
She blushed and brushed a thick lock of raven-black hair from her eyes, "Coming from you, that is high praise. Now Jim, let's go home."  
  
"Home. I can't wait." and he ended the communication, "Sulu, to the Vortex."  
  
"Aye, Captain." the Helmsman replied excitedly, and the two starships shot away.  
  
They flew through space at a leisurly pace, and Moreau turned in her boxy command seat toward Commander Caccomo, "Angel, I want shield power back up asap, make it Engineerings top priority."  
  
"No problem, Captain."  
  
"We are within visual range of the vortex." announced the Navigator.  
  
She turned back to face forward, "Let's see it."  
  
The rectangular display switched from an empty starfield to show the swirling blue rip in space. It was twisting and pulsing much faster now, and Moreau knew without asking that they were cutting it close, she could feel it in her bones. Caccamo smiled, "We did it. Smooth sailing now."  
  
The Captain frowned, "Don't say that, Angel, you'll-"  
  
With a terrific flash of light, two more Borg cubes dropped out of warp between them and the shrinking vortex.  
  
"-jinx us." she finished with a voice like a death rattle, "Pull up, raise shields!" she shouted.  
  
Space all around the two Starfleet ships exploded with a fury of green torpedoes and orange cutting beams, it was an infernal storm of destruction. The Enterprise had managed to bring up it's deflectors and it rocked under the abuse. They were leading the way and it was only Sulu's flawless ability and raw speed that saved the flagship. They dodged hard to port and shot between the two cubes, screaming between them at a terrific speed. The Ark Royal ducked under the starboard cube and skimmed along, the massive grey surface an ocean of bio-circutry less then twenty meters above.  
  
"Alter heading to 0-9-7 mark 47! shouted Captain Moreau, and her ship whipped hard to the right in a tight arc, soaring down and away from the cubes.  
  
And away from the vortex.  
  
Moreau whipped around in her chair to bear on Coccamo, "I know you, you always over-prepare, you can't help yourself."  
  
He looked round at her sheepishly, "Well...yes."  
  
"So we do have another EMP torpedo?"  
  
He nodded, "But only one. You get just one shot."  
  
She turned back to the Helm, "Bring us around and head back to the Borg. Transfer all extra power, including warp, to the shields."  
  
"Yes, Captatin." came the reply.  
  
The Ark Royal looped up and around then burst forward, back toward the cubes. The USS Enterprise was shooting through space in the distance, the cubes pursuing them side-by-side, firing green energy spheres fast and quick. They weaved and rolled, but were still taking hits.  
  
"Sheilds are down to fifty percent...forty...thirty..."  
  
"Reinforce them anyway you can." said Kirk, sweat glistening on his face, he felt the cold hand of death on his shoulder.  
  
He didn't want the Enterprise to be one of those Starfleet ships that just vanished, lost in space, no answers for their families, just a dusty bronze plaque in the hallways of the Academy. But things looked very grim.  
  
"The Ark Royal is calling!" called out Uhura.  
  
"On screen."  
  
Marlena Moreau appeared on the veiwer, "Kirk, we have another EMP, and we're going to fly between the cubes and detonate it."  
  
"What?! No, with them tracking you, you'll have to do it at too close of a range, the detonation will affect you. You can't!"  
  
She shrugged, "We're still going to do it. That should distract them long enough for the Enterprise to make it to the vortex."  
  
"No! There has to be another way."  
  
The nervous voice of Chekov sounded, "Nine percent. Shields are starting to buckle!"  
  
Marlena leaned forward, "Jim. We both can't make it, and I have the torpedo."  
  
He nodded slowly and his face was ashen, "Good-luck, Captain." he said in a voice thick with respect.  
  
"You to, Captain." and she closed the link.  
  
The Ark Royal rocketed toward the cubes at a right angle, and then with a last burst of impulse shot between them.  
  
"Fire!" she shouted, and the blue torpedo shot from them and slammed into the port cube at point-blank range.  
  
There was a tremendous flash of white light, and one cube sailed off spinning to the right, the other tumbled away and down, both crackling with ionizing lightning. They left the Ark Royal behind, it was on it's side, smoking and cracked, no lights, all power gone.  
  
"Setting course for the vortex." announced Sulu, and he reached for his controls.  
  
"Belay that!" ordered Kirk.  
  
"Captain." said Spock sternly, "I am already detecting activity from one of the cubes, by my calculations we have less than a minute-"  
  
"Take us back to the Ark, do it now!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"Shut-up, Spock!" snapped McCoy, and he leaned over the upper railing to shout to the Helm, "Sulu, you heard the man, get this ship moving."  
  
Sulu grinned, "With pleasure."  
  
The Enterprise reversed course and raced back toward the listing Ark Royal. The cubes righted themselves and lit up with green points of light again, got their bearings. The Enterprise came to a shuddering halt beside the dark silver vessel, snagged it with a tractor beam, then spun on it's axis.  
  
"Go Sulu!" roarded Kirk and the warp engines blasted.  
  
They screamed across space at warp eight, and the vortex loomed.  
  
"Spock!" Kirk shouted, "Transfer the phaser modifications to Chekov, I want that portal stabilized now!"  
  
"Got them, and...locked!"  
  
"FIRE!"  
  
The red beam lanced out, struck the blue energy rip. It twisted and spun, then for a moment it seemed to solidify. The Enterprise flew inside, dragging the Ark Royal after it backwards. They exloded back out the other side and whipped around to a halt.  
  
"Photons, phasers, use them all, close that vortex!" commanded the Captain, and the Enterprise let loose with everything.  
  
The rift buckled and shredded under the terrible assault, then with a flash of quantum sparks it disentigrated, and the bridge across the galaxy was gone for good. The two Constitution-Class starships hung in space, the light of a nearby red giant star casting them crimson.  
  
* * * *  
  
Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 6240.3 : The Enterprise has arrived at the planet Parliament just in time for the peace conference, after towing the Ark Royal to Starbase 14 for repairs. We are very lucky, as in the end neither ship had even one casulty. All who saw or heard the Borg have been sworn to secrecy. Starfleet and the Federation will encounter them at the proper time, when we are truly ready to handle them, our own encounter makes me glad for the rest of the fleet's ignorance. Could you even imagine a full-fledged invasion? A scary thought, and if I never see another cube or drone, I will die a happy man.  
  
As to the performance of Captain Moreau and her crew on their first mission, I was completely wrong in my assessment and my views of women in the fleet. If Marlena is an example of the future of Starfleet, then we will be in good hands. After what happened with Dr. Janice Lester I had thought the policy barring women from starship command was a good one, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Too bad the Ark Royal almost had to be destroyed for me to see past my foolish misconseptions.  
  
I personally told Moreau this on our trip to the repair dock, and asked her forgiveness, which she graciously gave. Things are looking up for now, and I hope the rest of the Enterprise's five year mission proceeds as successfully.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Enter." said Moreau, and the door to her quarters slid back.  
  
Anthony Caccamo strode in, and came to stand beside her, staring out her personal window into deepspace. He smiled, and handed her a pad to sign, "We should be in perfect shape and ready for duty in four hours."  
  
"That's great, Angel."  
  
He frowned, "But what's this I hear about you requesting another ship to explore the Magnus Cluster? Loose your nerve after encountering the...after what happened?"  
  
She shook her thick mane of black hair, smiled, "Hah, no. Just the opposite in fact. I've decided to request a deep space assignment. I want to go out there." and she gestured off into the dark cosmos.  
  
She glanced at him, "Want to come?"  
  
He nodded, "Yes, I would. Let me guess, you want to look for a way back to the Delta Quadrant?"  
  
Moreau turned back to the glass, "If we could get there once, we can get there again."  
  
He turned and headed for the door. Marlena looked back, "Where are you going?"  
  
Caccamo paused at the exit, glanced back and grinned, "I better get to work making more EMP torpedoes. I've got a feeling we're going to need them."  
  
Then he was gone, and her laughter echoed up and down the passageways, of the valiant and brave, starship Ark Royal...  
  
THE END  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
Did you like it, let me know. PS. This was my first fanfic ever, so please be nice. 


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